


Torn Between Bonds

by Wizarmonfan (Copperfur)



Category: Code Geass, Zoids
Genre: Multi, Torn between friends, Zoids are the true sixth generation of Knightmares
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-11 20:49:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11722284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Copperfur/pseuds/Wizarmonfan
Summary: AU. In the midst of an operation, Kallen takes a dangerous wound. Lelouch, panicking, heals her like he once did for his closest friend. Now bonded between the two of them, Lelouch finds his loyalties severely strained. Original idea adopted from Magus1108 and edited to fit plotline.





	1. Falsely Accused

Inside a lavish and elegant room, a middle-aged Britannian nobleman sat on a comfortable looking chair, calmly filing his nails. An empty chair sat opposite to him and a table with a chessboard upon it stood between the nobleman and the chair. Four guards, each armed, were placed around him, watching the entrance to the room like a hawk. The nobleman took no notice of what his bodyguards were doing, continuing to file his nails.

 

The door at the opening of the room opened abruptly, as a young Britannian man stepped inside. The guards tensed for a moment, but soon relaxed. Apparently, they were expecting the young man. The nobleman looked up from his fingers and grinned once he saw his guest.

 

"Ah, Lelouch Lamperouge. About time you arrived. I was hoping I wouldn't have to wait much longer. Please, have a seat." The older man said, gesturing toward the vacant, plush chair. The teen in question nodded briskly and sat down.

 

"I must say, even if you are a Britannian, it is an honour to see you here today. You're quite the talk of my friends. Apparently, you're a chess playing genius and have yet to be beaten. I also understand you've nearly robbed some of my friends blind, those fools gambling away large sums of money when they fought you. Bravo, I must say. It isn't everyday that a Britannian accomplishes such an amazing feat." The older man went on.

 

Lelouch showed little response to the man's recount of his deeds, but a thin smile graced his face. The young exiled prince opened his mouth to say: "Thank you, Mister Khell. You honour me by speaking so highly of myself. But may we skip the pleasantries? We both know why I'm really here." His thin smirk was still upon his face.

 

Khell gave a smirk of his own and laughed. "Cutting to the chase, I love that kind of quality. Very well, if you so wish. I seek to prove my friends wrong, that you can be beaten. Thus, I have called you here today for a game of chess. Shall we play?" Khell asked, waving to the already set up board.

 

Lelouch nodded. "Of course. However, I will not engage in a match with you unless I am paid. You understand, of course. I have a sister to support, after all."

 

"Yes, yes, you will get paid. Should you win, certainly, you will get your money. The regular amount will suffice, I presume?" Khell asked. Lelouch gave another nod.

 

"Good. The board is already set up. Now, let's begin." Khell made the first move and waited for Lelouch to make his. Inwardly, Khell was laughing his head off. This boy would easily fall to him; Khell was a master at chess! No one had defeated him yet and surely no monkey could ever overcome a nobleman of his calibre. It was entirely unthinkable. Besides, this would be an easy victory, Khell could tell.

* * *

The game progressed and eventually the younger man moved his King, to Khell's surprise. Now, just what was he doing, making a move that risky? It seemed this would be an easier triumph after all, Khell thought.

 

"Quite the reckless move, Lamperouge. Just what are you trying to achieve?" Khell sneered.

 

Lelouch’s thin smile from before bloomed into a full-faced grin after hearing his question. "Why, Mister Khell, if the King wishes to win the war, he needs to lead his soldiers into battle." Lamperouge answered, his grin still attached to his face. Khell started to feel a sense of foreboding, but quickly brushed it off.

 

"We shall see, Lamperouge. The battle is not yet over and I have the advantage."

 

"For now," Lelouch simply said. The feeling of dread returned to Khell… 

* * *

"Thank you for the match, Mister Khell. I enjoyed it very much." Lelouch said, closing the door behind the distraught and shocked nobleman. Lelouch walked down the hallway, stowing away the envelope of money he had just obtained. A quiet chuckle escaped his lips.

 

All had gone as he had planned. Lelouch had been victorious against Mr. Khell and thus he gained the cash he needed for his sister. These days, gaining money for them was all that mattered to Lelouch. Getting good grades had become secondary, though he usually made good grades without even trying. The young Britannian reached an elevator and stepped inside, pressing the button for the main floor.

 

Most of those nobles were usually arrogant little brats, he reflected, as the elevator went down. Lelouch took pride in every one he defeated and he counted each chess match won against those infuriating nobles as a battle won against the Britannian Empire. It did little to actually free Japan and the rest of the world from its tyrannical control, but it had to do (for now).

 

The elevator doors opened in front of Lelouch, breaking him from his thoughts. He stepped out and strode through the main lobby of the hotel.

 

As Lelouch walked outside, he heard the mutterings of others. Lelouch Lamperouge looked up at a giant screen on top of a nearby building to see the image of a Britannian skyscraper, smoke pouring out near the top of it.  _Another terrorist attack no doubt_ , he thought. The soon image vanished and was replaced with the Britannian Flag.

 

An announcer's voice came from the screen then, saying: "We apologize for the delay. Princess Guinevere and Prince Clovis, Viceroy and Sub-Viceroy of Area Eleven, will now address the nation."

 

Lelouch narrowed his eyes. Great, another message from the pompous heirs of Britannia. How he hated these monsters that ruled the country with an iron fist. The royal family of Britannia should die for the crimes it committed against not only the Japanese but the other countries too, the Emperor himself being publicly executed and his body paraded around the streets!

 

But this would never happen. Not yet, at any rate. For now, he'd just have to deal with it. However, it still took all of Lelouch’s willpower not to spew curses at the screen.

 

Then the flag disappeared, bringing the young idealist back to reality. The faces of Clovis and Guinevere replaced the former image upon the screen. They spoke, with Clovis beginning.

 

"To all my loyal Imperial subjects, including the many cooperative Elevens who choose to serve the Empire of Britannia..."

 

_They’re Japanese, not Elevens!_ Lelouch thought, rage coursing through him. It was degrading, being called a number. As if being stripped of their rights and nation weren't enough, they couldn't even be called by their rightful names!

 

Clovis subsequently continued: "Do you not see my pain? My heart was ripped from my chest only to be torn apart, the remnants filled with rage and sorrow! However, as co-ruler of Area Eleven, I will not tolerate terrorism of any kind! The battle we fight is a righteous one, a virtuous battle, to protect the well being of one and all."

 

The camera turned to Guinevere, who spoke as well. Her speech was short and to the point. "As my brother said, we shall not tolerate terrorism of any kind in Area Eleven! If any of the terrorists are listening, I have a warning for you; surrender yourselves to Britannia, or die. Now, please join us in a moment of silence for the departed."

 

Guinevere bowed her head, Clovis following her actions. "A moment of silence please."

 

Lelouch snorted and continued his way towards his parked motorcycle. He put the key in the ignition and drove off.

 

As he travelled along a highway, a large transportation truck honked its horn behind Lelouch. Before he could swerve to get out of the way, the truck careened down a nearby ramp, crashing into a building. He stopped his motorcycle and peered down below to see if the driver was alright.

 

Around Lamperouge, a crowd was forming, making comments about what had happened. When Lelouch saw no one make a move to help them, the former prince rolled his eyes. "Damn Britannians. Unless it directly benefits them, they never take any action."

 

Lelouch then leapt over the rail that separated him and the truck below, gently landing on the ground. It was partly his fault this accident had occurred (and he did not want to get thrown in jail), so it'd be best to go check and see if the occupants were unharmed.

 

Lelouch ran over to the driver's door, but stopped short when he saw it was blocked by a piece of metal. He started to go over to the passenger's side, but saw a railing on the side of the truck. Thinking that he might have a better chance there, Lelouch climbed it to the top of it.

 

"Hello over there! Are you alright?" Lelouch shouted, hoping to get an answer. With any luck, the driver hadn't been killed in the crash. That wouldn't end up well for him, if the driver did turn out to be dead. Lelouch opened his mouth to shout again, a voice interrupted him.

 

_My, this is interesting. It seems I have found another-_

 

The voice was cut off and did not continue. Lelouch looked around, perplexed. Where had that come from? Had it come from the driver of this truck, or one of its passengers? Perhaps, but the voice had sounded like it had spoken directly into his mind…

 

Suddenly the truck came back to life and backed up, causing Lelouch to be flung into the open storage container attached to the vehicle.

 

"Stop, I'm in here!" Lelouch cried as the truck sped away from the building it crashed into. No reply came from the driver.

 

Well, wasn't this just great!? How exactly was he going to get the driver's attention, when he couldn't be heard? Lelouch gave a heated snarl. Who knew how long he'd be stuck in this truck until the driver finally stopped?!

 

"You would think they would stick a ladder inside," Lamperouge muttered. The Britannian youth began to try and think of a way to get the driver's attention. His eyes drifted and stopped on the odd looking object the truck was transporting. Just what, exactly, was that that?

 

"Stop the vehicle! Surrender now and you'll get to defend yourselves in court! Stop now!" came a voice outside of the truck. Lelouch froze in his tracks after hearing it. A horrified realization came to him. He must be in a terrorist vehicle!

 

A burst of machine-gun fire then came out of what he presumed to be an aircraft of some kind, nearly missing the truck. The voice came again, demanding that the vehicle stop or be destroyed.

 

Lelouch gave a grimace, seeing that his current options weren't good at all. He could risk jumping out of the car, but he could end up killing himself. Perhaps he could wait until the vehicle was (hopefully) stopped, and try to explain things to—no, that would never work. The Brits would kill him even if he weren't a terrorist.

 

The door to the front of the truck abruptly opened and Lelouch hastily hid himself behind the strange device near him. A young woman with red like hair walked by, asking something to the person driving. Lelouch didn't get a good look at her, but she did look oddly familiar. Perhaps… no, whoever she was, that didn't matter right now. What did was finding a way to escape this unfortunate incident alive.

 

The youthful woman climbed into an old model of a Knightmare, a red Glasgow if Lelouch wasn't mistaken. The back door opened and just as Britannian helicopters were about to fire upon the truck, the Knightmare's Slash Harkens destroyed two of the copters. It jumped out and the back door closed behind it.

 

That was intriguing, Lelouch reflected. How had they gotten a hold of an actual Frame?

 

At that moment the car made a sharp turn to the left, causing Lelouch to hit the wall. Rubbing his bruised shoulder, Lelouch muttered a curse in French. This was no time for distracting questions like that; he could think about those things later, once he escaped alive.

 

Remembering he still had his cell phone on him, Lelouch checked to see if it would work. To his disappointment, there was no reception. Damn. Just when he needed it…

 

Lamperouge gave a sigh and sat down. With nothing else to do, he may as well wait for the truck to stop. Perhaps, with a bit of luck, he could escape whenever the car reached its destination.

 

That came sooner than expected, as the truck gave a jolt (as if it had hit something) and came to a halt. Lelouch jumped to his feet straight away, hoping the end of this ill-fated ordeal was near.

 

All of a sudden, the side door of the truck began to open. Lelouch felt a brief surge of panic (did the driver know he was in here? Was someone waiting outside to kill him?), but he composed himself swiftly and went to hide behind the strange device. It was at that moment he noticed a Britannian soldier jumping toward, aiming a roundhouse kick at his face. Lelouch managed to bring up his arms in defence, but the blow still struck and knocked him off his feet.

 

"Wait, I'm not one-!" Lelouch struggled to say, but was cut off as the Britannian soldier grabbed his neck.

 

"That's enough mindless murder! I will not let you use that poison gas to kill more innocent civilians!" The soldier snarled at him. Lelouch’s eyes narrowed at his captor. Just what was he talking about, poison gas? Was that what was in the strange container?

 

Ignoring that line of thought for the moment, Lelouch came back to his senses and managed to kick the soldier off of him. He looked for a weapon of some kind, but found none.


	2. Geass Obtained

The soldier started to come at him again, causing Lelouch to desperately shout: "Wait, I'm not a terrorist! I wasn't brought here by my choice!"

 

Obviously, Lamperouge did not expect this to work at all. He doubted the soldier would even believe him and he had only said it in a frantic, if futile, attempt to save his life. In fact, Lelouch had been expecting a rather brutal and painful death at the hands of this Britannian soldier.

 

So it was to his surprise, of course, that the soldier did not tackle him again or worse, murder him. Instead, the man came to a stop.

 

"What do you mean ‘you weren't here by choice?’" The soldier asked, after silently staring at Lelouch for a few seconds. Lelouch gave a quiet sigh of relief. A Britannian not grabbing his gun was a good thing; he may just be able to convince the soldier that he wasn't a radical.

 

"I was checking to see if the driver was fine after this vehicle crashed earlier, when I accidentally fell into the open storage container as the truck started to drive away. Since then, I've been stuck along for the ride." Lelouch explained, watching the soldier's reaction. It would be a miracle if the soldier believed him. In fact, he was surprised that he hadn't already been executed. Didn't most Britannians shoot and ask questions later?

 

Unexpectedly, the device that held the poison gas started to light up. Before Lamperouge could react, the Britannian soldier proceeded to tackle him to the ground. It then started to open up. It revealed not poison gas, but a tied and bound woman with flowing green hair.

 

"What the hell? What was a woman doing in that container that supposedly held poison gas?"

 

The green-haired woman opened her eyes and looked Lelouch for a second, before she closed her eyes and fell to the cold floor. After the soldier got off him, Lelouch walked to the mystifying woman and started to untie her. Lelouch thought of asking the other man just what exactly was going on, but thought better of it. Best not to press his luck.

 

To Lelouch’s surprise, the soldier came over and knelt beside him, starting to help release the unknown girl. "I had no idea a woman was in there. They only told us it held poison gas." He commented, untying the woman's arms.

 

However, before they could complete their task, a bright light was shone upon them. Lelouch glanced behind him to locate its source, to see an entire squadron of Britannian troops and what he presumed to be their leader surrounding them.

 

The presumed leader stepped forward, and aimed a pistol at Lelouch’s forehead. "You stinking monkey! You've got a lot of guts, committing these acts of terror against our Empire. You should have known you couldn't get away with stealing from Princess Guinevere."

 

The Britannian prepared to fire, but the soldier previously helping Lamperouge came over and stood between him and the man's intended target. "Sir, I was told this was poison gas! What's this woman doing here? Besides, this man told me he wasn't here on purpose. He just tagged along by accident. There's no reason to kill him!"

 

The brave soldier's superior looked outraged at his subordinate's questioning of his orders. Giving a shout of rage, the older man threw off the soldier's helmet and struck him on the cheek, causing said soldier to fall. Upon inspecting his face, Lelouch saw his saviour was actually Japanese.

 

He wasn't a Britannian. That explained much.

 

“…!” Lelouch wanted to face-palm. _Suzaku!_ He remembered eight years ago how he saved his close friend’s life.

 

Still, Lamperouge needed to find a way to get out of this dangerous situation and quickly. The cogs in his mind were working overtime, searching on how he was to escape.

 

He could—no; he'd be shot down if he ran. Try to reason with the leader? He'd still be slain. Try to eradicate them himself? An even more idiotic choice, as Lelouch didn't even have a weapon; there was no way he could harm them in any way. How was he to get out of this alive then? Or was his fate already sealed?

 

"However," the man started, snapping Lelouch out of his judgements. "In light of your outstanding military achievements, I'm going to be lenient. Private Kururugi Suzaku, you can execute the terrorist."

 

Lelouch’s eyes widened a fraction, as his brain again searched for some way to survive. No, there wasn't any way! No option he thought of could be done without risking serious injury, or even death.

 

Damn, this was bad. Was… was he was going to die? No, he couldn't! Lelouch had his sister to support; he still had so much to live for! His life couldn't be wasted in such a way…

 

"But he's not a terrorist! The boy just got caught up in these events!" Suzaku interjected, rising up. Lelouch stared at his close friend, shocked expression obvious.

 

Suzaku was sticking up for him? Lelouch didn't know if he should be thankful or not; he’d decide later. Then again, did it matter? The leader would have him dead whether Suzaku did it or not.

 

"You insubordinate little whelp! That's an order! Didn't you swear your loyalty to Britannia?"

 

"Yes, but… but I can't. I can't kill him in cold-blood… it isn't right! Please, just let him live." Suzaku pleaded with his superior.

 

"What?" the leader asked, fury spreading on the skin of his face.

 

"I cannot follow your orders, sir. I cannot kill a civilian." Suzaku clarified, turning to Lelouch. He gave a futile (in Lelouch’s opinion) smile at him.

 

"Very well." the leader said. A second later, he shot at Suzaku's side. Suzaku's eyes widened and he promptly fell to the ground, presumably dead. The cruel man smirked, aiming his gun at Lelouch once more. "Bad day to become a terrorist. Seize the girl! Once you've secured her, kill the extra," the leader ordered of his subordinates.

 

"Yes, my lord!"

 

Before they could do anything, the truck near them exploded, sending smoke and wreckage everywhere. Lelouch took this as his chance of escape. He grabbed the green-haired woman, hoisted her onto his shoulders and ran as fast as his body could take him from the Britannians.

 

After running for some time, Lamperouge found himself alone with the woman, far away from his foes. Now that he was a good distance away from those soldiers, Lelouch put the woman on the ground. He finished untying her so she had full use of her limbs and could speak.

 

"Why does Britannia want you?" Lelouch inquired, his mind going through several explanations. She could be involved with the military, perhaps even a scientist? That could explain why Guinevere and Clovis would want her back if she escaped. She could also be a mistress of Clovis.

 

However, as plausible as those theories were, none of that explained why she had been in that machine, bound like that. The woman stood up. Instead of responding, she suddenly grabbed his hand. Everything was suddenly replaced by a bright, white light as the room around him faded away.

 

_What the…?_

 

"You don't want it to end here, do you?" An unknown voice (the girl from earlier, he guessed), asked. Scenes of all kinds started flashing before his eyes, each different and more bizarre than the next.

 

_What in the world…?_

 

"If I grant you power, could you go on? I propose a deal. In exchange for this power, you must agree to make my one wish come true. Accept this contract and you accept the conditions. While living in the world of humans, you will live unlike any other. You will live in a different providence, a different time, and a different life. The Power of the King will condemn you to a life of solitude. Are you prepared for this?" The woman asked.

 

_What the hell was this lady going on about!? 'Contract'? What contract? And where was she? Just what in the name of Kami was this?!_

 

"The power I am offering you will be unlike any other you've experienced. With the Power of the Kings, your one true wish can be granted with its help. However, it is not a deal to go into lightly," the voice continued on. "Are you prepared? Can you handle the power of Geass? I warn you, this power is not for one who is weak…"

 

Her last sentence snapped Lelouch out of his confusion. Whatever this was, wherever this place was, this mysterious woman was offering him some kind of power. A power, if she was to be believed, he could use to obliterate the nation of Britannia with. If what she spoke of was true, then…

 

"I accept this contract!" Lelouch replied without a moment's hesitation.

 

An amused laughter came from the girl. "So be it, then…"

 

Lelouch felt a rush of… well, _something_ fill him, and the world around him changed yet again. The room he was back in slowly came back into focus and Lelouch was staring the abnormal woman in the eye.

 

"Just what are you?" Lelouch asked, wondering if the ordeal had even happened. He didn't feel anything at all. Was it possible it didn't…? No, wait, his left eye… there was something different about his left eye. He could feel it, yet he didn't know what it was.

 

As Lelouch wished it to stop, it did. Trying to see if he could control this, he attempted to feel it again. Amazingly, he did. So he _had_ changed. But what power had this girl given him?

 

"I am… a witch. If you must call me something, then please refer to me as C.C., Lelouch Lamperouge." C.C. said, her face carrying a neutral expression. She didn't bother to explain how she knew his name.

 

"The power I have given you," she went on, "is one called 'Geass'. It is a power of the Kings, and it can grant you whatever you wish. However, this force does not come without its own costs. We can discuss that later, though. For now, we must escape the Britannians before we're captured."

 

Lelouch opened his mouth, many more questions of his mind, but closed it. She was right, now wasn't the time for questions. They needed to escape soon if they wanted to live. Getting this 'Geass' wouldn't mean anything if he were to die today.

 

A little time later, Lelouch and C.C. were at the exit of a tunnel. Lelouch motioned for the mystifying woman to be quiet and looked around, making sure his head wasn't seen.

 

A rapid shot of gunfire came close by and Lelouch hid his head further. He peered again to see the bloody body of a middle-aged Japanese man, a look of pure terror forever frozen on his features.

 

Lamperouge clenched his fist in rage. _Those damn murderers! Killing in cold-blood like this…they can't even defend themselves!_ He thought, righteous anger rising up in him. His rational mind told Lelouch to go back down into the tunnel and find a more safe and secure escape route out of the Shinjuku Ghetto. However, his more zealous and hot-headed side rejected what his rational mind recommended.

 

No! No more hiding, no more sneaking around the Britannians, no more living in fear! He would become alive once again, and make sure those who committed heinous crimes such as this would be punished! Britannia would no longer escape the judgement it so deserved!

 

This world, the way things were, they needed to change, no matter what. No matter the cost, he would see to it that Britannia fell. He would do it…with his new power, Geass.

 

His mind made up, Lelouch stood up boldly, attracting the attention of the Britannian soldiers. They all aimed their guns at him straight away. Lelouch took note of the fact they were the ones from before.

 

The leader stepped forward, giving a low chuckle. "Foolish terrorist, giving up so easily? Simply pathetic. Tell you what; I'm in a generous mood. Tell me where you've hidden the girl and I'll make sure your death is painless." The Britannian said, lifting a revolver at Lelouch, aiming at his chest.

 

Lelouch laughed maniacally in response. This unnerved the Britannians, but they did their best not to show it. "Gone mad, have you? Then I guess I'll kill you now." The soldier said, his finger on the trigger.

 

"Tell me Britannian, do you really think you can defeat me?" Lelouch asked, his hand over his left eye. He dropped it, revealing he had activated his Geass.

 

"W-what's happening here?" the soldier asked, his gun hand trembling greatly.

 

His Geass triggered, Lelouch felt a rush of euphoria go through him. This unique and strange power made him felt like he could do anything…he could order anyone to do whatever he wished, and they'd do it…he felt, he felt like…

 

In that one moment, Lelouch Lamperouge felt like he was a supreme and almighty God. Basking in the glow his power, Lelouch gave a malevolent smirk at the soldiers, making eye contact with them all.

 

"I, Lelouch Lamperouge, command you all to die! Put those bullets into your head!" Lelouch bellowed, bending their will to his with the Geass. After a moment, the leader chuckled darkly.

 

"Of course, my lord! Fire!" the Britannian cried. All at once, the squad of Britannian soldiers shot at their necks. Each fell to the ground, blood flowing from their bodies.

 

C.C. stood up and walked over to Lelouch. She said nothing of the soldiers, just briefly looking over the corpses of the Britannians.

 

Lelouch only smirked in response. This power…he could only imagine what he could do with it! With this Geass, he could finally annihilate Britannia and free Japan. His dreams could finally be realized!

 

"The Geass I have given you is called the Geass of Absolute Death. Just so you know the limitations you have," C.C. remarked. Her new partner gave a nod of the head to her statement.

 

Suddenly, with no warning, a Knightmare Frame burst through the ruins of the building. After a moment, the pilot's voice boomed from the machine. "What's happened here, terrorist? Did you kill all these soldiers?"

 

Damn, a Knightmare… could his power work on it? No, it was only a machine; it wouldn't make sense for his power to affect something like that. Then how could he get the pilot out?

 

Before Lelouch could consider anything else, he felt something pressed to his back. He turned his head to see C.C. with a gun jabbed into his spine.

 

"The terrorist somehow killed all the royal guards. I was about to stop him when you arrived. Can you assist me in his arrest? I am Special Agent J-47, hired by Prince Clovis and Princess Guinevere themselves. You can see my identification if you need proof," C.C. spoke, betraying no emotion at all.


	3. Debut of the Zoids

Lelouch's eyes widened in shock. What… what was she doing? Wasn't she suppose to-

Wait, he knew what she was doing. A smirk came to Lelouch's face. C.C. was trying to get the Knightmare pilot to get out so he could use his Geass on him. A good plan, she had. It could have been better but, under the circumstances, Lelouch wasn't going to complain.

After a moment of silence, the cockpit of the Knightmare opened up and the pilot - a light-skinned Britannian man - got out.

"I see. Good work, agent. Now, show me your ID." The pilot said, his gun pointed at the prince's chest. As he walked forward, Lelouch turned on his Geass and spoke a simple word.

" _Die_ _."_

The pilot froze, clutched his chest in pain, and dropped to the ground within a few seconds. Lelouch gave a chuckle, fairly pleased at the results. _Heart attacks… an interesting and painful method of death_ , he thought. Perhaps he should use that more often…

He bent to pick up the dropped key and went inside the Frame, shortly followed by C.C. After finding the code number, he took off with the machine. Lelouch travelled a short distance before hiding himself behind a ruined building, abandoning the Sutherland and hopping into his trusty Shadow Fox, which he had left here prior to today.

"Most likely they're going to keep the massacre a secret until it is finished and, when it is, they're going to spin it in favour of the military. However, since they need to keep a lid on this information, it'll be hard to call for reinforcements. They'll have to make due with the pieces they have on the board." Lelouch muttered, quickly piecing together what he believed the situation would be.

"Are you going to fight your way out? If so, I would think it would be difficult." C.C. interjected. Lelouch glared at her for her interruption, but he knew that was true. Not to mention that the youth didn't have any previous experience fighting in or even piloting a Knightmare, despite furthering the creation of the Z-Frames. The Z-Frames were actually Zoids, built as the true sixth generation of Knightmare by Reuben Ashford, Milly's grandfather.

Lelouch adjusted his Shadow Fox so he could see what was going on in the area, but was still hidden behind the ruins. He saw the familiar red Glasgow model destroying another Britannian helicopter with its Slash Harkens. Two Sutherlands were behind it, getting ready to attack. The red Glasgow retreated just as one of the Sutherlands opened fire.

"That's right; there's a terrorist cell here. I might be able to use them to my advantage. And in an answer to your question C.C., I don't intend to fight that much, if I can help it. However, I can drop you off if you wish." Lelouch suggested, not caring at the moment what she did. She did not respond, which Lelouch took as a 'no'.

He checked the map to see the situation. There were too many forces to fight alone, so Lelouch had to get help from the cell. It was then that something caught his eye on the map.

"Excellent." Lelouch spoke, a triumphant look in his eyes. He retrieved his two-way radio that he had conveniently left in the cockpit and messed around with it until he managed to get the frequency for the red Glasgow. At the same time, he started to move his Zoid into the wrecked remains of a building near a train track.

"You, in the Glasgow! Use the tracks to move to the west entrance!" Lelouch shouted. He heard a gasp of surprise before the pilot responded.

" _Who's this? How do you know this code?"_ The frantic reply came.

" _That voice… it sounds oddly familiar, but I can't figure out why… how do I know this girl?"_ Lelouch wondered. However, that didn't matter for the moment. He swiftly continued: "That doesn't matter. If you want to win, you're just going to have to trust me."

Lelouch hoped that the words 'to win' would get her on his side. They were simple words to everyone else, but in this situation they had greater meaning. If he showed his confidence that he would be able to get the terrorists out of this troubling predicament, then Lelouch could sway the rebels toward him.

" _To... to win?"_ The pilot whispered. Lelouch grinned. Perfect: all conditions were being met and it was according to plan.

Lelouch situated himself in the dilapidated ruins of a close by structure, settling on using that as his temporary commanding station. As he waited, the former prince continued contacting others in the terrorist cell, giving them instructions as well.

" _What am I supposed to do now?"_ The female pilot of the Glasgow demanded, now on the train tracks. Lelouch checked the map again. The train would arrive soon, if the schedule were kept.

"Since you've trusted me this far, you're going to win. Jump onto the train!" Lelouch ordered. He saw the Glasgow do so. One of the Sutherlands trailing her stopped the train, while the other one leapt on the vehicle to follow her.

Lelouch chose that moment to fire his AZ 30mm Armor Piercing Laser Vulcan, taking off the head of the Knightmare Frame. Before the other one could act, Lelouch fired his AZ 70mm Electromagnetic Net Gun at it and an electrified net came out. The net fried the command system of the enemy Sutherland.

The red Glasgow moved in, finishing off the Knightmare with its main weapons before it could eject an escape pod.

" _You saved me… but what is that?"_ The pilot said, amazement evident in her voice. Lelouch didn't give a reply. Seconds later, he saw the rest of the cell running up to the Glasgow.

"Are you the leader of the group?" Lelouch asked, his question directed at the Japanese man with the large, strange hair.

" _Ah, yeah."_ The reply came after a moment's pause.

"I present to you the cargo of that train over there. They're tools for your triumph. If you want to use them to prevail, then you will follow my instructions." Lelouch ordered. The red Glasgow opened one of the side doors of the train, revealing an assembly of similar beast-like Knightmares.

"Yours is the Lightning Saix. The Glasgow will be upgraded to the red Blade Liger. The PR Command Wolf goes to the loudmouth. The rest of you will receive Command Wolf LCs, except the only other woman gets the Fire Phoenix."

Lelouch listened to their shouts of surprise and joy. Good, he had them under his command now. Under his authority, they would defeat the Britannians here (even if it were a small victory).

"Woman in the red Glasgow!" Lelouch shouted, gaining her attention.

" _Y-yes?"_

"Stay where you are. Your unit's going to run decoy, got that? Oh, and what's your energy filler status?" Lelouch asked, checking over the map over again.

" _Okay. And it's about fifteen minutes worth."_ She reported.

"Swap to the Blade Liger. In ten minutes I'll contact you with your next instructions." Lelouch said, turning off the radio.

"Just what are you planning on doing?" C.C. asked with some curiosity.

"You'll see soon enough, C.C." Lelouch responded, his thoughts on the next move. If he wanted to win, he needed to time everything just right. Nothing, not even the slightest detail, could go wrong.

Once the leader was in the Saix, Lelouch turned back on the radio. "P-1, can you move? It operates basically the same as what you're used t-."

" _Can't you at least tell us who you are?"_ The leader of the group asked, cutting off Lelouch.

"My name is not important right now. Besides, I can't do that. What if these signals are being intercepted?" He asked, though Lelouch actually doubted that they were. "Now when the enemy Sutherlands, most likely two, come after Q-1, shoot them through the wall."

Besides some minor bickering between the groups, everyone did as he told them. The two Sutherlands approached from the rear and—

"Shoot now!" Lelouch ordered. Bullets burst from the weaponry of the Z-Frames, destroying the two Sutherlands on the other side of the wall.

"An ID signal can be a double-edged katana. Besides, if the terrorists follow the commands I issue, my task at hand is sure to be complete. This is check mate, Britannia." Lelouch sneered, a look of triumph on his face. C.C. said nothing, but she was impressed. She hadn't seen a kid this smart since…

"P-1, P-4, P-7! Move a hundred meters to the right and fire your weapons towards 3'clock." Lelouch ordered.

" _You got it!"_ the leader of the group shouted, moving into position with the other two. They fired, and took down a group of Sutherlands.

And so the battle went on. One by one, piece-by-piece, he reduced the Britannian forces. Now, they were nearing total victory! At this rate, the enemy would not last long.

"Now then, they have six options. Their move." Lelouch said, just as the terrorists crushed another squad of Britannians. He looked at the map to see the Britannian forces swarming in on one location.

"That's a more moronic move than I thought they would make." Lelouch muttered, rather disappointed in them. Then again, Prince Clovis, Princess Guinevere and their men were idiots.

"You, Q-1, do you have an area map?" Lelouch spoke into the radio.

" _Yes, I do. It's a map of the old town but it has no current landmarks."_

That voice. Lelouch knew that voice, but had no idea how. Q-1 had also looked familiar to him. Just how did he know Q-1?

Then it clicked. No. No _way_ could she be a terrorist, of all people. But… it made complete sense. She was that type of person. She wouldn't bow down to Britannia without a fight. And it did explain her personality change over the years…

"That doesn't matter right now, I need to concentrate." Lelouch mumbled. C.C. gave him an inquisitive look, but said nothing.

"It'll do." Lelouch spoke. Now all he had to do was wait for them.

"Mission Number Three now," Lelouch began, speaking to all of them. "Is everything prepared?"

" _Yes,"_ came the chorus of responses. Excellent. Britannia wouldn't know what hit them.

Seconds after they arrived, Q-1 fired her weapon at the weak ceiling, sending the entire team of Sutherlands above crashing into the floor below.

Lelouch gave a maniacal chuckle at the outcome of his work. "My plan's worked! I can do it, I can! With my intelligence and this Geass, I will obliterate Britannia!" Lelouch declared, his promise eight years ago to his sister and friend coming to mind. Now he could finally accomplish it.

His growing confidence, however, started to falter as the next reports began to come in.

" _This is B-Group, reporting enemy presence!"_

" _Reinforcements?"_ Lelouch speculated, wondering if he'd been wrong in his initial evaluation of the situation. He promptly grabbed the radio. "Status!"

" _Everybody ejected, but they took out four units in nothing flat! And it was just one Knightmare!" T_ he frantic voice cried. Lelouch frowned. This wasn't good. Was it some sort of new Britannian weapon?

Suddenly the pilot gave a scream and the connection was terminated. What was going on now!?

"All units retreat! I repeat, retreat now!" Lelouch commanded, deciding to play it safe rather than risk further endangerment. He knew better than to take his chances with some sort of new model.

They all did so immediately, though the new machine continued to pursue them. Suddenly, Slash Harkens hit the ceiling of where Lelouch was hiding, and what he presumed to be the cause of his troubles (a white and gold Knightmare that he'd never seen before), landed on the decaying floor. It aimed a punch at him that he almost didn't block in time.

The new Knightmare model drove him back, and suddenly the flooring beneath them gave away. They crashed through several more floors before reaching the bottom.

"Let me take over." C.C. interjected as the white Knightmare Frame slammed them into the ground. Lelouch was about to protest when he realized he didn't have that much time or the experience to fight the strange new model. It was possible C.C. had more experience than him, so it might be best to let her take over.

Then the red Blade Liger came to his rescue and kept the enemy Frame busy. Lelouch took a chance and got out of his Shadow Fox, letting C.C. take over, and made a tactical retreat.

* * *

Some time later, Lelouch entered the transport that Princess Guinevere and Prince Clovis were in, dressed in a soldier's outfit, using a helmet covered his face. Lelouch entered the control room to see Guinevere and several of their guards and advisors looking at a map. Clovis seemed to be absent.

"What are you doing in here, soldier?" Guinevere demanded, looking up. Lelouch chuckled and took off his helmet.

"Who are-?" Guinevere began to say, but was cut off by Lelouch.

"Commit suicide." He said, using his power on everyone but the Viceroy.

" _At once, my lord!"_ They all chorused together and put their guns to their heads. They pulled the triggers, and a stream of blood flooded the room.

Guinevere froze for a moment and then whipped out her pistol. Lelouch shot it in a way that knocked the gun out of her hand.

"Now that I've got your attention, call off the remaining attacks. Have the Britannians help the survivors. Do this and I may not kill you." Lelouch threatened. Guinevere gave a withering glare at him, but walked over to the throne. She was harmless now and had no choice but to obey. She began her message.

"Princess Guinevere su Britannia, Royal Viceroy of Area 11, hereby commands you! All forces are ordered to cease-fire at once! You will also cease destruction of any buildings and property. All causalities, whether Britannian or Eleven, shall be treated equally. In the name of Guinevere, you are hereby ordered to cease-fire at once! I shall allow no further conflict." She finished, turning off the lights and the sound.

"What do you want from me?" Guinevere asked, her face expressionless.

Lelouch smirked. If someone told him yesterday that he'd be holding one of the two rulers of Japan at gunpoint, he'd call them crazy. He never thought that he'd ever get a chance to do this. But now, he could begin the devastation of Britannia with Guinevere's death.

"All I want is your death." Lelouch said callously, aiming his handgun at the young Princess' forehead. He pulled the trigger.


	4. Suzaku's Sentence

_Your majesty, the prisoner wishes to speak with you." A person in a strange cloak informed Charles Zi Britannia. The Emperor of Britannia nodded to him. He descended down the stairs and exited The Sword of Akasha. He navigated through the maze that was the Geass Directorate and eventually stopped at a certain room, which he entered_ _._

 _The room was bare except for two things: a cage and the person inside it. The person looked to be a young child, with long, messy blonde hair that went past his body_ _._

 _"_ _You wanted to see me, V.V.?" Charles growled, showing his great displeasure at seeing the Code Bearer. Though, it had not always been like this. At one time, he and his twin brother, V.V., had been the greatest of friends. But then_ _that_ _night happened…_

 _"_ _C.C. has given a Geass." V.V. said, his voice without emotion. Charles didn't react, as he already knew. He had just finished talking with Guinevere when V.V had called for him_ _._

 _"_ _I know," was all Charles said. He turned to walk away when V.V. continued_ _._

 _"_ _When are you going to let me out of this, brother?" V.V. demanded, desperation now apparent in his voice. He gripped the iron bars and gave his twin a pleading look_ _._

 _"_ _When you give me your Code. I shall never forgive you for that night, brother. I was lucky that Marianne had been suspicious and had Jeremiah stay behind. Good day, V.V." Charles explained, rage seething through his body. He left the room before V.V. could respond_ _._

* * *

"... Now, onto the recent developing story coming from the Britannian military. Just yesterday afternoon, a terrorist cell stole a container of poison gas and fled into the Shinjuku Ghetto. When the Britannian military pursued the terrorists, they released the poison gas, causing the deaths of Britannian soldiers and Elevens. As of right now, the area is condemned from civilians…"

Lelouch tuned the rest of the broadcast out, concentrating on helping Sayoko wash the dishes. So, the military had covered up what really happened. It was to be expected, though it was only a matter of time until Guinevere's death was released. He wondered who the scapegoat for the murder would be.

Lelouch finished the last dish and went to his room. He closed the door and looked at the large lump in his bed. Lelouch sighed and sat on the chair next to his desk. "It will only be a matter of time until Sayoko wonders why you haven't gone 'home'." Lelouch muttered, his hands rubbing his temples. This woman was very difficult to deal with.

Shortly after killing Guinevere, Lelouch had met up with C.C., who had managed to take an arm off of the new Knightmare model before having to escape. After getting home, he had a bit of a difficult time explaining her to Sayoko. He had managed to convince her that she was a friend at school who needed a place to stay for a few days. Sayoko had been a little reluctant, but decided to let her stay.

It wasn't like she had much of a choice. C.C. was Britannian and even Honorary Britannians were wise enough to know that if they denied her, she might get revenge on them.

Yesterday had been interesting, to say the least. Lelouch had always wanted the power to strike back at Britannia, to get his revenge on them for what had happened eight years ago. And now he had it. Geass had opened an unlimited number of doors for him. Countless possibilities. Now all he needed to do was make a plan.

"You could always threaten to use your Geass on her to allow me to stay." C.C. suggested, turning over to Lelouch. In her arms was the mascot of Pizza Hut, Cheese-kun. Wait a minute… he hadn't bought that for her, and as far as he knew the girl had no money. Lelouch checked his back pocket for his wallet. Gone.

Damn woman.

After glaring at the girl (who merely smirked back in response, much to his annoyance), the former prince continued: "No, I will not do that if I have to. I would never want to harm Sayoko or Nunnally. I would never kill them. I am doing this for Nunnally, anyway. And for all the Japanese, for all the countries dying underneath Britannia's heel. With this power, I shall help bring down Britannia."

"A simple 'no' would have sufficed. I didn't ask you to ramble on." The witch replied, earning another glare from Lelouch.

She gave a playful smirk and continued, "So, that is your plan? To annihilate Britannia? That is a bold ambition, considering they control a third of the world."

"I shall destroy Britannia, no matter what. I don't care what I have to sacrifice, or how long it takes. I shall restore Japan to its former glory and free the world from that monstrous nation. No matter the cost, I will see that country fall. I shall become this world's saviour… it's hero." Lelouch declared.

C.C. stared at Lelouch for a moment before turning over on the bed, presumably to go back to sleep. Lelouch turned away from C.C., trying to think of what to do next. But the images of Guinevere, blood gushing from her forehead, suddenly came to his mind. All that blood from her and her advisors… and the soldiers'…

Lelouch dashed out of the room, heading toward the bathroom. The sound of his retching could be heard down the hall.

"So, Lelouch isn't entirely cold-blooded. I'm surprised it took him a day to get sick from his first kill." C.C. thought, hugging the Cheese-kun to her chest. Well, at least that proved Lelouch wasn't a monster…yet. Though she had no way in telling how he might become with Geass. Everyone reacted differently to the Power of the Kings. He could become like Charles, or like Mao. Or maybe…

"You remind me of a boy I once knew," C.C. commented aloud, her mind drifting to a time years ago…

* * *

"What do you mean she's dead?!" Clovis demanded, slamming his fist on the desk. The officer looked pale, but continued anyway.

"We… we found her dead in the command centre, your Highness. We have no idea how this happened. Shortly before, Princess Guinevere had ordered a ceasefire in the Shinjuku Ghetto. After that, we have no idea what happened. I-"

"Enough. I am most displeased that I am the last to hear of this…. but what's done is done. If anything, her death is advantageous to me…" Clovis calmly said, sitting back down.

The initial shock over his half-sister's death was gone. The death of a royal family member wasn't all that unusual. The entire family plotted against each other nearly every day. Besides, the death of Guinevere could be seen as a blessing to the Prince. With her out of the way, he could control Japan without any interference.

"Your Highness?" the messenger asked.

"I need nothing more of you. You're dismissed. Wait… can you tell me what she was doing in the Shinjuku Ghetto? What was she looking for?" Clovis questioned.

"Well, she was looking for the poison gas stolen by the Elevens-"

"Dismissed." He interjected. The man nodded and walked out of the Prince's office.

Clovis frowned and leaned back on his chair, wondering what Guinevere had been searching for before her death. Their most certainly had been no poison gas. None had been made in or delivered to Area Eleven for quite some time. Whatever Guinevere had been searching for had to be something important enough to massacre an entire Ghetto for.

But it was likely the Prince wouldn't find out any time soon. General Bartley and the rest of her advisors were dead, seemingly having committed suicide. Why that was, no one knew. It was another mystery added to Guinevere's murder.

Right now, though, what Guinevere had been searching for didn't matter. What did matter was finding out who murdered her, and to find a scapegoat if they couldn't. It would not do to have a culprit not found, once they released the information of her death. Either they needed to find the murderer, or find someone to take the blame.

Clovis buzzed his secretary and ordered her to get tapes of the command room, from the time before Guinevere's announcement to afterwards. After a few minutes, she buzzed him back.

"Um, your Highness… I am sorry to tell you this, but the tapes are virtually useless. From ten minutes before Princess Guinevere's announcement, the hidden cameras were turned off. It wasn't until an hour after her body was discovered they were turned back on."

Damn. Whoever the murderer had been, he was smart. This only made things even more difficult. It was likely they wouldn't find out who murdered Guinevere any time soon. It seemed they would have to find a scapegoat after all. Who, then?

"Prince Clovis, Margrave Jeremiah wishes to speak with you." The secretary announced over the intercom. After a moment's thought, Clovis contacted her and said he'd allow the Margrave to come in. A minute later, Margrave Jeremiah stepped inside the office.

"Greetings, your Highness." Jeremiah said, bowing. Clovis raised a brow at the man's left wrist. Where his hand should have been, a mechanical one replaced it. It lacked any synthetic flesh, most likely because of the shortage of that in the Area. It seemed the Margrave suffered an injury in the battlefield. Clearing his head of that thought, the Prince turned his attention back to Jeremiah.

"Cut to the chase, Margrave. It is going to be a very long day at this rate and I don't have the time for small talk." The Prince said, rubbing his fingers over his forehead. Great, another migraine was coming on.

"Very well, my lord. From the evidence I have seen, it is likely we will not capture Princess Guinevere's murderer. In that case, we must find a scapegoat. If it is not too bold of me, I wish to make a suggestion." Jeremiah reported. Clovis waved a hand for him to continue. The Margrave withdrew and placed a series of files on the Prince's desk.

"My lord, have you ever heard of Suzaku Kururugi and his team of Honorary Britannian soldiers?"

* * *

Three days later...

"Wake up, Lelouch! I know you're sleeping, your hand stopped moving!" Milly shouted, lightly hitting the prince's head with a piece of rolled up paper. Lelouch opened an eye and glared at Milly. He opened his other eye and stared at the piece of paper on the desk. For some reason, Milly had seen fit to now organize the budgets for all the clubs, on the day it was due. The entire Student Council was rushing to get it finished before the horse riding club stormed into the room.

"Well, you don't have to hit me over it do you?" Lelouch asked.

Rivalz gave a chuckle. "Serves you right for ditching us last Friday! We had to do cross-dresser's ball without you. I mean, come on, was last year's so ba-"

"Rivalz, what have I said about mentioning the last ball?" Lelouch cut him off, giving his classmate a withering glare.

Rivalz shrank back under the terrifying glare. "Ah…. never mention it unless you're willing to face severe torture…"

"Correct. Good boy. Now, don't forget, because they'll never find the body." Lelouch said, giving a dark smile. Rivalz shrank back further.

"Oh come on Lelouch, the last cross-dresser's ball wasn't so bad. Everyone's forgotten about-"

"Shirley, you don't mention the last ball and I won't mention the porn convention Milly 'accidentally' dragged us to." He interjected, smirking.

Shirley's face turned crimson and her hands went to her ears. "Oh God… I can still hear it, I can still hear the-"

"Okay, that's enough scaring the members, Lelouch. We all get it. Now, enough trips down memory lane, we need to get focused. Otherwise the horseback riding club will get on us." Milly quickly intervened, trying to get the others back on focus.

"Not to mention what the fencing club will do to us if we don't meet the deadline…" Nina mumbled, casting a quick glance at Lelouch. She went back to typing on her computer.

"That's right, so everyone keep focused! We need to finish this in the next hour. No pressure, just remember that everyone will kill us if we don't!" the President exclaimed, giving a laugh.

Lelouch tried to smile, but his lips ended up twitching. It was hard to keep up the façade sometimes. It was times like these he wished he hadn't joined the Student Council. Damn that girl, forcing him to join. Now he had to spend nearly every school day dealing with these Britannian brats. Sometimes Lelouch just wished he could hang himself, or get away with hiding the bodies.

"Oh, and don't forget that the Speedo contest is tomorrow, Lelouch and Rivalz!"

Maybe it would be worth the risk after all….

The door flew open and a student suddenly burst into the room. "Turn on your TV! Prince Clovis is giving a special announcement."

"Oh come now, it can't be that impor-" Milly started, but was cut off by the student.

"He's saying that Princess Guinevere's dead!"

At this declaration, Milly grabbed the nearby remote and turned on the TV in the upper left corner of the room. She switched it over to the news channel. Rivalz, Shirley and Nina turned their attention to the screen, their work forgotten.

Lelouch suppressed a smirk and gazed at the screen. So, Prince Clovis was finally announcing his handiwork. Excellent. The image of Clovis was seen on the TV, once the news station switched over to him.

Clovis began. "Today marks a tragic moment in the history of Area Eleven. Three days ago, while searching for the poison gas the terrorists in the Shinjuku Ghetto stole, my sister was slain."

After letting that sink in, the Prince continued. "While desperately trying to find the poison gas stolen by the terrorists, a group of traitors ambushed my sister and her advisors. They killed them and threatened my sister. They forced her to end the conflict in the Shinjuku Ghetto, to save their terrorist friends and then proceeded to kill her."

At this, Clovis stepped to the side of the platform. Armed guards brought seven Japanese, all near their teens with the exception of one young adult, forward.

"These seven Honorary Britannian soldiers, led by Kururugi Suzaku, betrayed the Britannian Empire. They killed my sister and have done many other acts to undermine the government of Area Eleven. Their crimes against the Empire and Area Eleven will be judged four days from now." The Japanese were led away. Suzaku started to protest, but was hit in the cheek by a rifle.


	5. Countdown

After they were gone, Clovis walked back to his previous position and continued: "My sister's death will not be in vain. She has become a martyr for her cause. As the new Viceroy of Area Eleven, I will continue the dream of my sister: to bring everlasting peace in this Area and to end the terrorism. A moment of silence please, for my departed sister." Clovis bowed his head.

After the moment of silence, Clovis began to leave. The newscast switched back to the studio and Milly turned it off at that moment. The entire student council was silent for a few minutes.

"Well… this certainly doesn't happen everyday." Shirley commented, breaking the silence.

"No, it doesn't. Well, back to work everyone. We only have fif…. where is Lelouch?" Milly asked, pointing to his chair. It was empty and the door to the entrance was now closed.

"Looks like he skipped out on us again, lucky guy." Rivalz laughed.

These days, Lelouch skipping on Student Council meetings, or leaving them, often occurred. That was why Milly kept an eye on him most of the time to make sure he didn't. Though it seemed that didn't prevent him from sneaking off when she wasn't looking.

The President sighed. "Well, he's long gone by now. Looks like you're going to have to do his work for him Rivalz. Oh, and you have ten minutes."

"What?!"

* * *

"So, what do you plan on doing now? Are you going to rescue those boys?" C.C. asked.

Lelouch glanced at her. He was now back at his house, in his room, pondering on what to do next. After a few moments of thought, he came up with an idea. "I believe, C.C., it is time for my grand introduction." Lelouch replied.

Sayoko came into the room a second later. "Lelouch, Catherine, it's time for dinner. I hope you like pizza, Catherine. I make the best that I've ever…" The maid stopped in mid-sentence. At the word 'pizza' C.C. had bolted out of the room in the blink of an eye.

"Well… she must really like pizza." Sayoko said, giving a light chuckle. Lelouch gave a sigh at her behaviour and followed Sayoko downstairs.

"Oh, and Kallen has come by for dinner. Her mother wasn't able to make it again, sadly. Kallen said she's still sick." Sayoko mentioned as they reached the last step. Lelouch nodded. Good, Kallen was here. That simplified a part of his plan.

True to her word, Kallen was sitting at the table with Nunnally and C.C. She gave the Britannian girl a curious look, but said nothing about the witch's presence. Sayoko went into the kitchen to finish up and bring out the food. Lelouch took a seat between his sister and C.C.

"So Lelouch… who is your friend?" Kallen asked, casting another glance at the green-haired woman. She seemed to take no notice of Kallen's staring at her.

"She's a friend from school. Her name is Catherine. She needed a place to stay for a few days." He answered. Sayoko walked into the room and began to set the table. Kallen looked like she wanted to press the issue further, but said nothing more.

Dinner passed by without much conversation. Sayoko would have discussed Guinevere's death with their son and Kallen, but with C.C. there they were too afraid to talk about that. It was only when desert was brought out (pizza, much to C.C.'s apparent delight) that Nunnally decided to talk.

"So Lelouch, is Catherine your girlfriend?"

Lelouch nearly choked. He cast a glare at an amused C.C. and said: "No, of course not Nunnally. Catherine is only a friend from school."

"Oh, I'm hurt, Lelouch. Did last night not mean anything to you?" she asked, giving a smirk.

If looks could kill…. well, in his case, looks _could_ kill. But killing C.C. there and then would attract too much attention.

"And what exactly happened last night?" Sayoko interjected, staring at Lelouch. He cast another fierce glare at the witch before giving a reassuring smile to the maid.

"Nothing, Sayoko, nothing at all. Catherine was just kidding, weren't you?" The Britannian youth asked her. He turned his Geass on for a split second to send a message. All she did was give another chuckle.

"Of course I was. Sorry."

"It's alright." Sayoko answered.

Kallen looked greatly amused and Nunnally was trying not to laugh. Silence continued for the next few minutes.

"So Lelouch, if Catherine isn't your girlfriend, is Kallen?" Nunnally continued, giving her brother an innocent look.

Looking back at that moment, Lelouch never knew the human face could turn that shade of crimson and certainly not that Kallen could.

* * *

Half an hour later, dinner was finished. Kallen, after thanking them, got up to leave. Lelouch stopped her before she could and asked to speak with her in private. A minute later they were now in his room. Lelouch stared at Kallen for a few moments, thinking of what to say.

"Kallen… I must say, I'm surprised at you." Lelouch began.

The half-Britannian gave him a confused look. "About what, Lelouch?"

"That you've become a terrorist."

At this statement, Kallen froze. After a moment, she stuttered: "I-I have no idea w-what you're talking about, Lelouch. I'm not a terrorist."

"Oh really now… Q-1?" Lelouch asked with a smirk.

In the blink of an eye, Kallen had him against the wall, a hidden knife to his throat. He tensed, resisting the urge to use his Geass on the girl. Lelouch closed his eyes for a moment, thinking.

"Kallen, it would not be wise to kill me. After all, I am your friend. Besides, I would never betray you, so you have no need to worry about that." Lelouch reasoned.

After a few minutes, Kallen let him go and put the knife away. "So you were the voice?" she asked, giving Lelouch a calculating look. He nodded.

"Why did you help us, Lelouch? I thought you were a Britannian prince." The half-blood said.

Lelouch scowled at her. "Just because I am that in title, does not mean I am that at heart. You may look like a Britannian, Kallen, but you are also a Japanese at heart. Do I need a reason to destroy Britannia besides the fact they killed my mother?" he retorted.

She looked surprised. "To… destroy Britannia?" Kallen asked with disbelief.

Freeing Japan was more likely than destroying that nation. In her mind, destroying one of the three most powerful nations in the world seemed foolhardy. Yet, Lelouch looked so confident when he had said that. Did he truly think he could accomplish that?

"Yes, I wish to eradicate the Holy Empire of Britannia. And I need your help, Kallen." Lelouch stated. He smiled and extended his hand to her.

For a moment, Kallen was at a loss for words. After all, Lelouch's statement seemed ridiculous. However… he seemed to actually believe he could do it. He had helped them live through the battle at the Shinjuku Ghetto, after all. Maybe this boy was the one hope Japan had been looking for these past eight years. What would Naoto do?

Kallen Kouzuki made her decision. "What do you need me to do, Lelouch?"

Lelouch kept up his smile and lowered his hand. Excellent, Kallen was by his side. That made things much easier now. They had always made a great team back when they were younger. With the two of them working together, nothing was impossible. So he hoped.

"Kallen, three days from now, I want you to take your friends from the terrorist cell and go to Tokyo Tower together. Say I called you with orders to go there. Then…"

* * *

Three days before the trial…

After typing in another few keystrokes, he was in. Lelouch Lamperouge surfed through the information, looking for something useful to his plans. As a Prince, Clovis just had to have something incriminating in his personal files.

Hmm… this was an interesting one. Lelouch clicked on it. As he read more and more of it, the Japanese's eyes grew more and more wide.

This… was incredible. This information would serve him far into the future. He could ruin Clovis' life with the information from this. He could easily gain Kururugi Suzaku and his men without resorting to his more dangerous plan.

Perfect.

* * *

Two days before the trial…

"You three work for a demolitions company, am I correct?" Lelouch asked the three men at the table. He scanned the rest of the nearby tables once more. Good, nobody else had walked into the coffee shop so far.

"What of it, Britannian?" one of the men asked gruffly, taking a sip of his coffee. Lelouch smirked and turned on his Geass.

"Listen carefully. I need you to…"

* * *

One day before the trial…

"…. the suit has been finished as you requested. I've erased all the evidence per your orders. Here it is." The elderly tailor said, handing Lelouch a large box. The prince nodded and activated his Geass.

"Good. Now I want you to…"

* * *

Ten hours before Suzaku Kururugi and his men's trial…

"Well? Was that you in Shinjuku? Was the ceasefire your doing?" Kallen asked. This was it, Lelouch's big reveal to the others. All she needed to do with to remember her lines Lelouch had given her. She couldn't screw this up no matter what.

He made no move to show he had heard her.

"Hey we're talking to you!" Sugiyama Kento added, clearly annoyed at being ignored. At that moment Lelouch turned around to reveal his mask and costume.

For a moment Kallen (as well as the others who had come along) were speechless. She had to admit, Lelouch sure knew how to make an entrance.

"Well? What did you think of my tour of the settlement?" Lelouch's modified voice asked.

"Your tour?" Kaname Ohgi questioned.

"Ah come on, there's no way it was this joker." Kento protested, giving the masked man a glare.

"I wanted you to fully grasp the two: the settlement, and the ghetto." Lelouch continued, extending his arms in opposite directions.

"Yes we know there's a difference between us Japanese and the Britannians, a very harsh one. That is why we must resist the Britannian Empire." Ohgi said, taking a step forward.

"You're wrong." He stated. "Terrorism alone will not eradicate Britannia."

"E-eradicate Britannia?" Ohgi asked, surprised. Though they were intent on freeing Japan from that nation's rule, it never crossed his mind that they were also trying to destroy that country.

"While terrorism is a strong force that can weaken that Empire, it alone cannot deal the final, crushing blow. Especially with the way the terrorist cells in Japan are run. Right now, your cell, nor anyone else's, is close to freeing Japan. Let alone obliterating Britannia. There is no attempt at organizing a large-scale cell. Only the Japan Liberation Front has come close to this, having originated from several different cells. However, it is not enough for just a few to unite while the rest are scattered. After all, a house divided against itself cannot stand." Lelouch argued.

"Then what are we suppose to do?! There's no way Britannia will ever let a large-scale rebellion form. They'd crush it before it began." Kento snapped. He was sure as hell mad that this masked man had the nerve to insult them, saying that they couldn't accomplish their dream.

"You are wrong. The Britannian government in Japan is not as powerful as you think. They are not the omnipotent, supreme state they make themselves out to be. Britannia can and will fall. To do this, you must wage war upon the Holy Empire of Britannia." Lelouch announced. He paused to let this sink in. Again, it seemed he had left them speechless. Finally it was Kallen who spoke up.

"W-Wage war?!"

"Yes. You must know your enemy. You have to realize that the Britannian government in Japan isn't your only enemy. The entire nation is. And the only way we can ever free Japan is to fight and win war against them. It is a war that must be waged. We must strike at civilians and soldiers alike to crush our enemy. Take up your katana and fight for justice!"

"Oh please, that's easy enough to say isn't it? Hiding behind that mask, why should we even trust you?" Kallen demanded.

"That's right! Take off that mask now!" Kento added.

"Yes. Will you show us your face or not?"

"Very well. I'll show you," Lelouch said, making a move to remove the mask. He stopped and continued. "However, what I'll show you won't be my face, but rather my power. I can make the impossible, possible. Once I do this, then I'll have earned your trust."

* * *

Thirty minutes until Kururugi Suzaku and his men's trial…

"Any moment, any moment now! It sure is a sight to see. Just look at the crowds lining the route. All of them waiting! Waiting for the men accused of Princess Guinevere to be led here. They are Honorary Britannians, and former Elevens. Kururugi Suzaku, Fumio Aki, Iwao Haruo, Touta Matsuda, Kou Hotaka, Daichi Kenji and Osamu Ryo are the seven being tried for the murder," came the announcement from the chosen speaker.

The air was tense. All were waiting to see the seven Elevens to be brought down the street, toward the courthouse. Some were hoping to see justice done; others wanted revenge, and one man - if he could truly be called a man - revelled in the coming bloodshed.

"I… I can see them! They have the suspects! The Elevens will be heading this way soon!" The announcement came as the convoy transporting the suspects came into view down the bridge.

Shouts started to fill the bridge as the convoy drove through. Many cursed the Japanese; some gave them insulting hand-gestures, while others threw cans and other garbage at them. The few who tried to protest were shocked by their collars.

"Voices of scorn and resentment are growing ever-louder. These voices give proof of the people's love for our fallen Princess Guinevere. These righteous voices rain down their judgement upon the terrorists. Our new Viceroy Prince Clovis, whose personal efforts helped to settle this case, will be directing the trial as an acting consul."

Within his news van, Diethard Reid gave a sigh. Sure, everything was going along perfectly but… it all felt like a sham to him. He was as corrupt as any of them. He wished that something out of the ordinary would occur, so that something could change. But it was unlikely. It was a suicide mission, to try and rescue them.

Still…


	6. A Rejected Save

Zero, I hope you know what you're doing. You could get us all killed. But… you've said you could make the impossible, possible. You gave us your word, Zero. I hope you follow through. If we can rescue Suzaku Kururugi and the others, then we may be able to save Japan.

* * *

_This is it, my grand entrance. There's no turning back now, even if I wanted to. The moment of truth has come. If I succeed, then…_

* * *

"Prince Clovis!" The sudden cry came as the convoy sped down the bridge.

Clovis gave an annoyed sigh and responded. "What is it?"

"Vehicle approaching from Third Street. We let it through as you instructed, but—"

"Is the target a terrorist vehicle?" Clovis interrupted.

"Well my lord, it's Princess Guinevere's car." The man hesitantly replied. Clovis was silent. "Sir?"

"Let them through. It seems we have a sick prankster on our hands. Do not worry about him. All forces halt!" the Prince ordered, giving them the hand-signal to stop. The Knightmares and the truck ground to a standstill.

"No stop was scheduled here. Could there have been some sort of accident?"

A gasp formed within the crowd as another car approached. It was the personal transport of the deceased Princess.

* * *

"I see, it's just you three." Zero stated. Kallen, Ohgi and a third man he barely recognized from the resistance cell stood before him.

"I'm sorry, but can you just give us a little more time? If I explain, we can get more people to—"

"No. You three will be fine."

"Oh that's ridiculous! Do you know how many of those Brits we'll be facing?!" the third man demanded.

"With your help, clearing the conditions of this task will be easy. I'll need this fixed by tomorrow. All that matters is that it has to look like this on the outside." Zero ordered.

The third man looked like he was going to object again, but Ohgi stopped him.

"Do any of you three have any flight experience with Britannian aircraft?" Zero suddenly asked.

They looked uncertain for a moment before the third man stepped forward. "I do."

"Good. I want you to follow this plan carefully, then. All the possible problems have been taken care of, I assure you." Zero said, handing him a folded up sheet of paper.

As the man read it, his eyes grew wide. He was silent for a few minutes before he looked back at Zero. "Very well. I just hope you know what you're doing…" Aizawa Shuichi would keep his end of the deal.

* * *

The truck moved forward and came to a stop at the convoy. The cockpit of the lead Knightmare Frame opened up to reveal Clovis.

"You dare defile my sister's personal transport? Get out of there!" Clovis demanded. The flag of Britannia on the vehicle burned in an instant. In its place was a masked man covered in white. Where the face of the mask should be, a large purple circle covered it. The crowd gave another collective gasp.

"I am… Zero!"

* * *

"My my, this man called 'Zero' is fascinating…" the young Britannian muttered. In front of him was a large television screen displaying the confrontation between Prince Clovis and the masked man called Zero. The man stopped what he was doing and took a seat on a nearby chair, though not choosing to sit normally. An elderly gentleman walked over to him and offered a piece of cake.

The young man thanked his elder but declined for the moment, continuing to watch the screen as events progressed. He lightly bit his thumb in thought. The elderly man came over again and stared at the screen for a moment, focusing on Zero. The old man paled considerably.

"Is it that bad?"

All he could manage was a nod.

The young man again paid attention to the screen, frowning. He turned to his companion, a decision reached.

"Watari, I think it's time I came out of retirement. That girl has no idea what she's unleashed upon us. God help us all."

* * *

"Who is this man, calling himself Zero? Is he a terrorist? Well, certainly not the brightest one if he is."

"Oh, you'll all see soon enough. When I'm done, Britannia will learn that they should have never messed with the Japanese in the first place." Lelouch thought. So far, his operation was going according to plan. Now he just needed to stay the course, and he'd be able to create his miracle.

"I've seen enough of this horse-play, Zero. Your little show is now at an end." Clovis announced. He lifted up a pistol and fired it into the air. Up above a carrier dropped four Knightmares, each landing beside the car. Their giant rifles aimed at them.

"Now, remove that mask." Prince Clovis commanded. Underneath it, Lelouch smirked. He put one hand up to remove the object… but stopped and snapped his fingers.

The roof behind him collapsed, to reveal a device. Clovis' eyes bugged out and the four Knightmare Frames immediately reversed to put what distance they could between them and the device. The ones escorting the convoy also moved backwards.

"You're insane!" the Prince shouted, taking a step back in fright. Lelouch gave a chuckle.

"Oh, so you recognize this device Clovis? And here I was afraid all you royal members were idiots." Lelouch taunted. He tapped the car and it moved forward some more. The Britannian Prince cringed and his vehicle moved back.

"The experimental Quantum Bomb has proved to be quite useful. This thing has the power to take out half of the city, so it's no wonder I've frightened Clovis so. Of course, what they don't know is that this is fake. While it would have been more useful to acquire a real one, I was strapped for time. Not to mention it would be difficult getting this onto the car, considering the height and weight of the device. Either way, the end result shall be the same." Lelouch reflected, resisting the urge to laugh.

"You… bastard." Clovis uttered, fear gripping hold of him. Impossible! There was no way this terrorist got hold of one of these! Unless of course… it was fake and a bluff.

"How do we not know that isn't fake?" the Prince finally spoke up. The soldiers around him relaxed as this possibility was given. Gaining more confidence, Clovis aimed his pistol at Lelouch's forehead (or where it would be under the mask).

"You intend to shoot me? I think you know what will happen if you try. The moment I die, that device will activate. As you know, these things can be set to detonate at a certain type of frequency or a sound. If my heartbeat stops, it'll explode. You call it a fake, but I say it is real. I wonder Clovis; would you care to take that risk, see if it's real or not? Then go ahead and shoot me if you dare." Lelouch challenged.

Clovis froze, but quickly regained his composure. "Very well then. Say I weren't to shoot you… what would your demands be?"

"An exchange. This, for the Japanese you hold prisoner."

"Like hell I will! They are charged with high treason for murdering my sister. I can't just hand them over!" Clovis objected. The Japanese prodigy gave another smirk.

"You're wrong Clovis. They are no murderers. The man who killed Guinevere… was myself!" Lelouch proclaimed. The crowd gasped and started to talk amongst themselves.

"Wh-What can this mean?! This masked man called Zero—no, we can't be sure who he is. But in any case, he claims to be the real culprit! So where does this leave the current suspects?" The announcer's frantic voice could be heard.

Lelouch mentally laughed at the reaction he was getting. Perfect, he was near done. All that was needed now was to seal the deal and his victory would be complete. His first of many victories against the vile Britannian Empire would be achieved.

"For seven Japanese, you'll save the lives of scores of Britannians. I don't think that is such a bad deal for you, my Prince." Lelouch mocked. Clovis' face twisted into pure fury. He levelled the gun at Lelouch.

"You're mad! There's no way that thing is real; you wouldn't risk your life like that! You shall pay the price for mocking the Crown!" Clovis bellowed. The Sutherlands around Lelouch's vehicle enclosed again and aimed their main weapons.

"Are you sure about this now, Clovis? You want the public to know about Operation R?"

Clovis' gun clattered to the floor. He stumbled backwards, only to fall on his back. The Prince scrambled to get up.

"How in the world do you know that?!" He commanded, horror overtaking his features.

Lelouch's face broke out into a wide grin. He tapped the roof of the car again and it moved closer to the convoy.

"I have my ways, Clovis. If I die, it'll all go public. If you don't want that to happen, you will release your prisoners now and do everything in your power to let us go!" Lelouch demanded.

Clovis was quiet. His hands were clenched and he looked like he wanted to kill Lelouch then and there. He reluctantly made his choice. "Very well. Release the prisoners, now."

The soldiers guarding the Japanese looked stunned at this command. The crowd again began to murmur amongst themselves.

"What are you doing, my lord?" Jeremiah Gottwield questioned, his cockpit extending out of the Knightmare he was in.

Clovis whirled to face the Margrave. "I said let them go! I… have no other choice but to do so. Now let them go to Lelouch! And nobody better interfere!" he ordered again.

The guards looked conflicted, but obeyed their Lord's order. The seven Japanese were released. Cautiously, one of them began to walk toward Lelouch. When the others saw he wasn't being shot at, they began to follow.

The crowd, outraged by this turn of event, protested loudly. Most of the Japanese ignored this and began to walk more confidently toward Lelouch. He stepped off of the vehicle and met them halfway.

"Who the hell..?" one of the men, Suzaku Kururugi, Lelouch recognized, began to ask. The collar on his neck cut him off, shocking him.

"I didn't expect for them to allow you to talk." Lelouch observed. Kallen walked beside him and whispered something to him. Lelouch nodded and whispered back.

"Now Clovis, have the pilots in the Sutherlands around me eject." Lelouch ordered. After another brief moment, the Prince complied with the command and ordered the pilots to do so.

"Thank you Clovis. Now, I must leave. I do hope you enjoy my parting gift." Lelouch said once that was done. He held up a detonator and activated it.

Explosions abruptly rocked the bridge. A few feet away from where Lelouch was standing the bridge started to crumble at an alarming rate. Before they could do anything, Clovis and his convoy went crashing to the ground as the steel collapsed below them. Britannians screamed as they all tried to run toward the more stable parts of the bridge, but few ended up succeeding.

The sound of a helicopter was now evident as it flew over to Lelouch. It stopped and lowered a ladder. Kallen began to climb up it, followed by the Japanese prisoners. One prisoner stared at what was happening with shock and horror, but was shoved toward the ladder by one of his team-mates. Reluctantly he climbed up.

"This shall be the first of many of my victories against Britannia. No longer shall I watch this Empire abuse the Japanese! Sayonara, Clovis. Until we meet again."

After surveying the scene once more, Lelouch began his ascent into the copter. It flew away once he was in, off to the Ghetto.

"It looks like they treated you all roughly. Now you all know what Britannia is really like." Lelouch commented, looking at the seven youths. "Britannia is rotten. If you wish to change this world, then join me!" Lelouch continued.

The former Honorary Britannians looked like they agreed with the masked stranger. All except for Suzaku Kururugi.

"Did you… did you really kill Princess Guinevere?" Suzaku asked.

"This is war. It's only natural that I kill an enemy leader." Lelouch responded. Was he still loyal to Britannia? No, of course not. That was foolish. After all that, no one would be loyal to that country.

"What about that bomb and the explosives placed under the bridge? You killed hundreds of civilians out there!" Suzaku burst in anger.

Lelouch frowned. What did that boy care about civilians for? No one in the military did, the Britannian military at least. "As I stated, this is war. On the battlefield, soldiers are not the only ones to get hurt. Civilians can get caught in the crossfire too. You're all safe now as a result of my actions. Without my help, you'd all be facing the execution now."

"The results? Well, that's all that matters to you I suppose. I guess you don't care about the civilians you harmed." Suzaku retorted, his voice rising in tone on that last sentence.

"Join me, all of you!" Lelouch repeated, extending his hands to the Japanese. "The Britannia you serve is a worthless dominion. If you truly wish to bring change to Japan and the rest of this world, then join me!"

One by one the former Honorary Britannians voiced their agreement. They started to walk over to Lelouch's side. Soon only Suzaku was left standing alone.

"That may be true. However! This nation, I can change it for the better. From within. I think that the ends are just as worthless if the means to them are wrong!" Suzaku pronounced. He turned and began to walk away, much to the disbelief of his team-mates.

Lelouch clenched his fists, fury growing inside him at this turn of events. What the hell was Suzaku doing?! He couldn't go back to Britannia they'd kill him! What was this boy, an idiot? Suzaku was condemning himself to death by going back!

Lelouch growled out: "What! Where are you going?"

"My court martial begins in an hour. Even if my friends won't go, I will." Suzaku stated. He continued to leave.

"Are you mad?! The trial was set up so they could find you all guilty! The judge, the prosecution and the defense!" He shouted, trying to convince Kururugi to stay.

"Rules are rules," Suzaku said. He stopped for a moment and turned around. "If at least one of us doesn't go back, they'll begin oppressing Japanese and Honorary Britannians."

One of the team-mates began to protest. "But you'll die! Britannia won't let you go alive!"

"I don't mind." Kururugi simply replied.


	7. Bullseye on His Back

"You're being stupid! Why would you serve an empire that has brought nothing but destruction and death to the Japanese people?! Surely you don't believe you can really bring change to such a rotten country!" Lelouch questioned one last time.

He doubted that Suzaku would join him now because of that statement, but he needed to know why. Why Suzaku wished to serve so vile an empire. Changing Britannia couldn't be his reason, because it was impossible. It didn't make any sense whatsoever to him!

"Because Zero, I know I can bring change. Britannia can be changed from within. It can be made into a better land. Even if I don't succeed, I can inspire someone else to! I want a more peaceful solution, unlike what you will bring. You say that Britannia brings death and destruction upon Japan. But will you be any different?" Suzaku countered.

Lelouch scowled at him, even though it could not be seen. How dare he accuse him of being no better than Britannia! If it weren't for the fact he'd lose the trust of the others, Lelouch would have killed Suzaku where he stood.

"Even so…thank you. Thank you for rescuing us." He finished. The boy turned around again and walked away, this time without stopping. His former team-mates couldn't keep back their shock and anger at Suzaku. They shouted at him, some pleading to see that he was wrong and Lelouch was right. Others called him a fool, and said they hoped he would burn in hell.

"This…isn't over, Kururugi." Lelouch whispered. He had a feeling that one day, they'd meet again. The next time, Suzaku would see the truth and join him. Join him, or die.

* * *

Things were not going well for the Viceroy of Area Eleven, Clovis La Britannia, to say the least.

It had been three days since his humiliation by Lelouch. Since that damned man had blackmailed him out of his scapegoats, and worse had actually been the killer and revealed himself as such, things had gone bad for the Prince.

The Britannian forces in Area Eleven no longer trusted him. He was a Prince and they would still obey his orders, but they did not trust him. They all secretly despised him, and viewed him as a traitor to Britannia. Clovis knew he would not remain in power for long. Either the Homeland would find an excuse to bring him back, or….Clovis didn't want to think of that last possibility.

This was all going wrong, oh so horribly wrong. It was not suppose to be this way! Now his plan couldn't be accomplished. Everything he had hoped to accomplish in this Area was ruined by that bastard! Lelouch… he would pay dearly for this. No one disgraced Clovis La Britannia, and got away with it!

Clovis would hunt Lelouch, and gun him down like a dog. No one made a fool out of him! He'd—

The ringing of his cell phone interrupted the Prince's thoughts. He grabbed it and opened it, demanding to know who it was. Upon hearing who it was, Clovis' expression brightened.

"Oh, it's you! ….you're in Area Eleven? That's great to hear. When can you come by and visit? ….good, I can't wait to see you. Oh, he's coming here too? ….no, nothing's wrong. I suppose I should have expected this. At least it wasn't Cornelia. Though, I'm not sure if I'd rather deal with him or her. …. I'm sure you're right. Hm? Oh, alright. I'll see you later." Clovis hung up the phone.

Well, at least that was one bright spot. It'd be great to see his half-sister again. Clovis hadn't seen her since Schneizel's last birthday celebration. He could take solace there was one light in the dark days ahead…

* * *

Lelouch walked in, and closed the door behind them. He turned to face Kallen. Currently he was at Ashford Academy, attending school. He had finally found some time to get Kallen alone, to discuss his plans. He had guided her to the club house of the student council. If remember proved correct, there were no meetings today so they wouldn't be interrupted.

"So Lelouch, what comes next?" Kallen asked. It had been three days since Lelouch's grand introduction. So much had changed since then. Events were moving forward. Great alterations were going to occur, if anything of what Lelouch said came true.

"For now Kallen, we wait." Lelouch responded. Kallen was about to object to that answer, but stopped her.

"The Britannian forces are in disarray. More likely than not, Clovis will not remain Viceroy for much longer. I will be dealing with a new opponent soon enough. I'd like to know who exactly I'm dealing with before I make my next move." He clarified.

Kallen nodded. She didn't like waiting, but what Lelouch said made sense. She'd wait.

"So Kallen, how are the others reacting to the new members?" Lelouch continued.

"Ohgi accepted them. Tamaki and a few of the others are reluctant about them though. They were former soldiers in the Britannian military."

"Understandable. However, I doubt they'll betray us anytime soon. They are no longer loyal to the country that tried to have them killed." Lelouch assured. He opened his mouth to continue, but was cut short. The door up the staircase opened. A loud shout followed that.

"Here it is!" Shirley declared, picking up and holding the small device. "I found it! This is it, right?"

"Yes, it is. What a relief you found our lab data." Nina confirmed. She took the computer chip from Shirley. Rivalz walked in behind them.

"Good to hear that, my back was killing me." He piped up.

The door across from Lelouch and Kallen opened. Milly walked in, rolling along a cart of food.

"Did you guys find it? I finished up on my end, shall we dig in?" Milly asked. She didn't seem to notice the momentary scowl Lelouch gave.

"Oh, wow!"

"Thanks Milly!"

"Oh, you adore me I know."

"Ah… what is all this?" Lelouch asked, quickly adopting his 'friendly Honorary Britannian' mask. Kallen quickly adopted her mask as well.

"Didn't you bring her here because you knew? We're inducting Kallen into the student council. It was my grandfather's idea actually." Milly said. She started to set the food out.

"The principal?"

"Yes. He thought it would be best, since Kallen would have a harder time in regular clubs due to her health problems. Oh, I'm Milly the council president. How do you do?" Milly asked with a cheerful smile.

"Oh, thank you. Uh, it's a pleasure to meet you." Kallen said. While they would not be able to detect it, Kallen was very much angry at this interruption. Why now of all times did these Brits have to induct her into the student council?

"I'm Rivalz, the secretary. If there's anything you need, just ask me." Rivalz greeted, giving a light bow.

"Hi, I'm Shirley. I'm in charge of planning social events. Nice to meet you!" Shirley exclaimed. She vigorously shook Kallen's hand.

"Ah hi, I'm Nina. I'm in charge of the club's finances." Nina said. She didn't look Kallen in the eyes, and seemed rather shy.

"The pleasure's all mine." Kallen said, putting on a kind smile.

"Right then," Rivalz said. He put a large bottle onto the set table. "Shall we kick this off with a toast?"

Shirley gave a surprised shout at the drink. "Champagne!"

"But we're on the student council, we can't drink." Nina lightly protested.

Rivalz ignored what Nina said and started to open the bottle. "Oh come on you guys, loosen up."

Shirley began to wrestle the bottle away from Rivalz, stating they were going to get in trouble. He struggled for a few minutes before getting it out of her hands. Rivalz tossed it over to Lelouch.

"Hey Lelouch, heads up!"

Lelouch easily caught the wine. Shirley ran over to him, but Lelouch didn't try to keep it away. He gave her the bottle.

"Ah, you're no fun, Lelouch." Rivalz sighed. Shirley walked over to Milly with triumph, and handed her the drink. Much to her dismay, Milly opened the bottle and began to pour it into cups.

"This is a special occasion; we don't get too many new members these days. I think it'd be fine if we had a little champagne, so long as we don't get drunk. That means you, Rivalz."

Lelouch shook his head and walked over to the others. Something caught his attention at the window, though. He turned to see what it was, but nothing was there. Odd, Lelouch swore he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

He frowned for a moment. Could that girl have followed him here? No, of course not. She had followed him to school for a while, though only to make his parents believe the lie he told them. She was supposed to be back in his room. Then what had he seen?

"I think I forgot something. I'll be right back." Lelouch said to the council. He walked out the door and looked around. Nothing in sight.

He walked over to the side of the building. Still nothing. Hm, he must have just been seeing things then. Odd. Lelouch turned to walk away.

* * *

 _That had been too close. That Lamperouge boy had been close to seeing me. No matter, it wouldn't have ruined anything, just sped along my plans. I will fulfil my desire before that man can come here. I swear it! He won't beat me again, he will not! I'd rather die first_.

 _It seems this boy has the smell of C.C. about him. Oh you grey witch, what have you done now? Not like I care. I only want to beat that man. If I can beat him, then I will prove myself better than him. Once and for all_.

 _You are my ticket to victory, Lamperouge. You are our tie-breaker. A shame you have to die. The world could really change with you. I was so looking forward to all the death and chaos you'd cause. Ah well, a necessary sacrifice. Maybe I can make my own fun later_.

* * *

"My Prince, we've arrived in Area Eleven."

"Good. It's about time. I can't believe that clown Clovis is still in charge. It won't matter much longer though. Soon I'll replace him and hunt down Lelouch. If I can do that, I'll definitely prove I'm better than that bastard."

"I'm sure milord. I have the upmost confidence that you'll capture that terrorist. Nate Ri Britannia will rue the day he was ever born."

* * *

"Look out below!"

These were the words that greeted Suzaku Kururugi as he was walking down the street, away from the building where his trial was held. The Honorary Britannian looked up to see a young girl falling from the sky.

At once he held up his arms to catch her, thankfully succeeding. His knees nearly gave out on him, but that was beside the point.

"Are you alright?" Suzaku hurriedly asked. He hoped he hadn't accidentally hurt the girl when catching her. He could now clearly see this girl was pretty young, probably around the age his cousin Kaguya was now. What was a girl her age jumping out of windows for?

"Sorry, I didn't know you where down here." The girl apologized.

"Ah, it's no problem at all. I wasn't expecting a girl to come falling down on me either." Suzaku assured. Well, she seemed nice enough. At least she hadn't been trying to commit suicide, like he had feared for a moment.

"Oh my," the girl said, realizing something.

Suzaku gave her a confused look. "Is something wrong?"

The young girl seemed to look doubtful for a second before smiling. "Yes, something is wrong! The truth is bad men have been chasing me. So considering the circumstances, can you help me please?" the girl sweetly asked, giving the Japanese a pleading look.

"Of course I will." Kururugi answered. He had some doubts about what she said was true, but he couldn't let this girl wander off on her own. Someone her age could get in danger alone in the settlement.

"Thank you!" the girl cried. Another moment passed before she spoke again.

"Um, can you please put me down? I'm not your bride after all."

* * *

"So, the Order has sent us to find out more information on this Lamperouge guy?" the girl asked her partner. Beside their whispered conversation, all was silent in the cabin inside the airplane. No one would overhear them, since they had booked first class and had asked not to be disturbed.

"Yes. The Order believes C.C. could be partners with this Lamperouge person. We have been ordered to find out if this is so. If it is, we are to capture the immortal as soon as possible and eliminate Lamperouge and any other persons who may have seen C.C. The Emperor himself has trusted us on this task, so we cannot fail whatsoever. Keep that in mind." Her partner confirmed.

She nodded and flipped through the magazine in her hands. She stopped at the picture of the infamous Zero.

"So, this masked man is our target. Ooh, he looks so mysterious. I can't wait to find out what's under that mask. Maybe I can have some fun with him before he dies." The girl said, giggling. Her partner made no response.

* * *

"… remind me again why I should do this for you, Lelouch?" Kallen sighed. Now that school was over, and Lelouch had asked her to come over to further discuss his plans and other things, which had been interrupted by the Student Council earlier.

"Because Kallen, you're my friend. And friends do things like this." Lelouch replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He went back to typing on his computer. To him, it did not seem that big of a deal. Then again, he'd be happy to get that woman off his back. The less often he had to deal with her, the better. He'd already lost a great deal of his personal funds because of her obsession with pizza.

"This is just asking too much, Lelouch. Friends borrow things from each other. Friends help one another out. Friends help another friend to take down a fascist government. Friends… do not bring annoying Britannians into your home on the request of another friend." The half-blood retorted.

Lelouch resisted the urge to sigh. Sometimes, it was difficult to deal with women. Especially stubborn girls like Kallen. What he wouldn't give to have a commanding Geass instead.


End file.
